ABSTRACT
This chapter differs from the others in that it does not provide new information, but rather tries to provide a framework within which to think about local strategy development. It argues that a strategic approach is an asset to an area and that flexibility and local adaptation are essential for success. Taken with the other material available on drug misuse - local and national reports, information from services and from drug users and their families, academic journals, newspaper reports and other textbooks - the volume of information and advice for people developing local strategies is overwhelming. Local strategy development needs to consider the number of people likely to benefit from an initiative, the gain expected from the intervention and the cost of the change compared to alternative uses of the same resource. Strategic plans are often regarded as huge, distant creations, which are as difficult to slow down, stop and change direction as are oil tankers lumbering across the Atlantic.
